Odisha girl raped and killed by neighbour in Gujarat

In a horrific incident, a seven-year-old minor girl who belonged to Odisha was allegedly raped and murdered by her neighbour at Surat in Gujarat.

Police reportedly recovered the body of the victim wrapped in a polythene sheet from the neighbour’s house 11 hours after the incident.

According to sources, the victim was residing at Tirupatinath Nagar Society at Badinath Square along with her family. The minor girl had gone to feed biscuits to dogs when the accused identified as Mukesh alias Mukko Chimanlal Panchal who was staying at the ground floor of the society allegedly took her to his flat forcefully and raped her. 

The accused killed her and wrapped the victim’s body in a polythene sheet to hide his crime. Also, he fled the scene to escape arrest. 

Though Mukesh used to live with his family, he was all alone on the fateful day when he committed the barbaric crime. His family members were away from home when the incident took place, police said.

Meanwhile, police have arrested the accused and it has come to the fore that as many as 14 cases are pending against Mukesh at different police stations.

Odia Samaj has demanded justice for the victim and death penalty for the accused. Member of the association, Jhunarani Gantayat, said, “Such an incident had never taken place in Surat. Gujarat used to be considered a safe haven for women. We had never heard of such an incident since our stay in Surat. I really felt sorry for the little innocent girl. All we want death penalty for the accused who killed the minor girl brutally.”

Crime Branch Inspector Kiran Modi said, “The incident took place on December 7. The accused lured the minor saying her to give money. Later, he raped the girl and murder her before wrapping her body in a polythene sheet. He hid the body inside the blot before fleeing the spot.”

The Inspector went on to add: “Upon being informed, Crime Branch formed different teams and launched a manhunt to nab Mukesh. He is a habitual offender. Many criminal cases have been filed against him at different police stations across Surat. He was handed over to the local police following his arrest.”